Battle for Azeroth PvP Q&A for November Featuring Trill, Swapxy, Smexxin, and Samiyam

For our November PvP Q&A with Method, Trill, Swapxy, Smexxin, and Samiyam tackle questions about upcoming GCD changes and the biggest surprise at the AWC!\r\rAbout the Authors\rTrill is a member of Method Orange, the 2018 Arena World Champions. Catch him on Twitch at Trilltko and Twitter @TrilltkoWW.\rSwapxy is a member of Method Black, which placed third at the 2018 Arena World Championship. Catch him on Twitch at Swapxy and Twitter @_Swapxy.\rSmexxin is a PvP streamer for Method and a former AWC competitor. Catch him on Twitch at smexxin and Twitter @Smexxin.\rSamiyam is also a member of Method Orange, the 2018 Arena World Champions. Catch him on Twitch at Samiyam and Twitter @samiyamx.\r\r\r\r\rIn the WoW Q&A at BlizzCon, it was mentioned that movement abilities will probably be taken back off the GCD. What sort of an impact do GCD changes have on PvP?\r\rSamiyam: The movement abilities taken back off the GCD don't have a huge impact on PvP. You might be able to make a few extra plays since there isn't that GCD holding you back. Some GCD changes make quite a big impact on PvP though, especially for major cooldowns such as Incarnation for Druids, Ascendance for Shamans, Icy Veins for Frost Mage, and Shadow Dance for Sub Rogues. It gives time for people to react to the upcoming damage and preemptively use defensive cooldowns. Without that GCD on those offensive cooldowns, the enemy might not react and just die.\r\rTrill: I think movement abilities and abilities like Darkness coming back off the GCD is great for the game. Abilities like this should be able to be hit immediately when you need them and should not be hindered by your damage rotation. For example, it just didn't feel right when a Mage Blinked right as you used an ability and you were unable to Charge as a Warrior.\r\rSwapxy: It would be good if a wider variety of abilities (defensive and offensive) will be taken of the GCD again, not just movement abilities. Especially in the early stages of an expansion, as when Haste levels are low, the game can feel painfully slow and unsatisfying. Having too many spells on the GCD just adds an extra layer of frustration. I remember the first time I tested Frost DK on beta, I tried to pop all offensive CDs to burst someone in a duel. It felt horrible and I changed my spec to Unholy instantly. When your rotation is fluid and feels good in terms of game mechanics, it's much more fun to play.\r\rThe AI Comp Stomp Brawl was announced at BlizzCon. Is facing AI opponents helpful or harmful for new PvPers?\r\rSwapxy: Do pvp talents work in the The AI Comp Stomp Brawl? Brawls can be fun and I don't think they hurt new players. Having a casual way to familiarize yourself with your pvp talents is not inherently bad.\r\rSmexxin: I actually think that AI opponents to practice against has the potential to be one of the biggest features for WoW Pv: introduced in a long time. Having something you could essentially "solo queue" to practice different fundamentals when teammates aren't around, could be a really big step. I feel like different difficulty levels of AI opponents could definitely help newer and veteran players.\r\rIn your opinion, what was the biggest surprise of the AWC?\r\rTrill: I think Pen and Paper really showed us that they are a force to be reckoned with and that they are a very strong team. All of them played exceptionally well and they played comps like Fury\/Unholy\/Mistweaver that almost sent The Gosu Crew to the lower bracket immediately. Huge shoutout to them as they were in my opinion one of the top teams at the event.\r\rSmexxin: We've had plenty of time for the meta to develop on live servers, and yet there were so many different Azerite traits and builds coming out from the players in the AWC. Was refreshing to see that this game is constantly being looked at from different angles from all the pro players.\r\rSwapxy: China getting 4th place and beating Skill Capped EU was the biggest surprise for me. Everyone knew NA would do well since Resto Shaman are beyond God Tier this Patch.\r\rSamiyam: The biggest surprise of the AWC was definitely the Chinese team Pen and Paper. i don't think anyone ever expected them to do as well as they did, playing a DK into the best turbo cleave in the world (Skill Capped) seemed like suicide but they demonstrated that not only could they win with DK but they could also win 3-1. Sagiy surprised me the most out of any player, it seemed like he had the most individual skill I had seen at a recent lan event. Watching him react to every situation and just being one step ahead of the enemy was so entertaining for me to watch, i definitely think he's the future of China in wow esports.\r\rMore PvP Guides on Wowhead\rIf you are interested in PvP in Battle for Azeroth, check out our guides to popular specializations! More coming on the way.\rDeath Knight: Unholy \rDemon Hunter: Havoc\rDruid: Balance, Feral, Restoration\rHunter: Beast Mastery, Survival\rMage: Arcane, Fire, Frost\rMonk: Mistweaver, Windwalker\rPaladin: Holy, Protection, Retribution\rPriest: Discipline, Holy, Shadow\rRogue: Assassination, Subtlety\rShaman: Elemental, Enhancement, Restoration\rWarlock: Affliction, Demonology, Destruction\rWarrior: Arms, Fury, Protection

Comments

Comment by walrock

That's it? Only 3 questions?\rI would not really call that a Q&A, more like a "Thoughts about Blizzcon and AWC"\rIts kinda underwhelming to read :\/

Comment by bromains

on 2018-11-27T21:23:48-06:00

the clickbait is strong with this one.

Comment by MaXiiczek

on 2018-11-28T01:56:13-06:00

I really like this comment...\r\r"Without that GCD on those offensive cooldowns, the enemy might not react and just die."\r\rBecause not having time to react and just die is what WOW PVP is about, right? :D I think putting those back on GCD was a good decision :)

Comment by DayonRolav

on 2018-11-28T04:40:51-06:00

Careful guys, you're not allowed to criticize the type of content this site posts.

Comment by Covenant40k

on 2018-11-28T09:23:38-06:00

Swapxy's comment "When your rotation is fluid and feels good in terms of game mechanics, it's much more fun to play." is a major crux for me this expansion. The forced downtime and waiting on GCD just feels terrible.

Comment by EmeraldBlue

on 2018-11-28T09:46:50-06:00

Swapxy's comment "When your rotation is fluid and feels good in terms of game mechanics, it's much more fun to play." is a major crux for me this expansion. The forced downtime and waiting on GCD just feels terrible.\r\rAugh, it's true.\rI literally find myself staring at the GCD rolling off my abilities, after I use one.\rEspecially painful it is with self-buffs, when you should be popping like 4, and half of them already lost their up-time until you can actually make use of them.\r\rThe game feels insanely slow right now.

Comment by mitydk

on 2018-11-28T11:02:19-06:00

Swapxy's comment "When your rotation is fluid and feels good in terms of game mechanics, it's much more fun to play." is a major crux for me this expansion. The forced downtime and waiting on GCD just feels terrible.\r\rOK I agree, but the flip side of this is going back to when people were getting globaled, literally one or two globals and dead.\r\rBecause if I can pop 4 60\/90 second CDs at once that ramp my damage by some insane amount and hit you twice and kill you before you can do anything, that wasn't much fun either--and that has happened in more than one previous PvP season absolutely.\r\rWait, will resilience fix it?\r\rIf you want to speed up the game, you have to lower damage outputs or every fight is <10 seconds and it's "CDs up? IWIN. CDs down? HIDE" 3 minute mages come to mind among others.\r\rNobody wants 6 second fights. OK, so now we ramp down the damage... aaaaand, self-healing \/ off heals outpaces damage. Cool beans, now we're back to endless fights or maximum dampening arena every time. Always loved that Ret WOG offhealing that filled the bar with one cast, that was super fun or those Frost DK deathstrikes for 40% heals were great too.\r\rHave to find a happy medium where we can have decent length fights that aren't just "PRESS IWIN BUTTON" type engagements.

Comment by Swatcher

on 2018-11-28T11:13:53-06:00

I thought this was a good news article. I have recently started PvPing a lot and am slowly getting into it.\r\rThe answers were great and well rounded, the questions were clearly derived at "promoting future blizzard steps" which is fine, but a little background of what they thought about PvP in BFA might be a great lot of questions for next time.\r\rIe, what do PvPers do in BFA. Ie, discussions about whether they thought there was enough places to access gear (a commonly criticised part of the game right now). Whether what was put into the game in Legion (templates, and 'gear not mattering anymore') had lasted into BFA for the better or worse in their opinions.\r\rI would #$%^ing love this as a running feature. Especially as Gumdrops has a gold farming weekly post, hunter pet discussion posts with pictures, etc. Would be amazing.\r> Discussions about 2v2 comps verses 3v3 comps and why they differ.\r> Discussion on the state of pvp for healers, as there is discussions about 2v2 in skirmish having no healers (i believe) and how they think about that. Can ask PvP youtubers like Stoopzz or Cdew the healer questions. Where they think healers should learn, if not in 2v2. Stoopzz discussed in his "starting to pvp to glad" series, that it can be useful to actually play as a healer to meet friends. This can be a cool thing to talk about for new and experienced pvpers who struggle to make connections for their battle tag for their queuing.\r> The huge debate of "soloqueue" that gets everyone riled up from what i barely know about the topic... it seems very important to the wider community.\r> The death of duelers guild in BFA and what blizzard did, whether the PvP players think blizzard could have done it better.\r> The role of PvP in Stormwind and Orgrimmar and whether Dueler's guild can be properly introduced outside capital cities, etc.\r\rLast kind of point... please don't ask 100% of method players. I know there is a comfy arrangement, but that does not mean as an unbiased news outlet you can cherry pick only your friends to ask. It feels like a slap in the face, there are a lot of people who likely would have responded to this kind of questionnaire. Whilst i appreciate the method boys taking the time, and that the corporate model might link them to being more likely to respond. It's wowheads duty to be a news resource, not just ask the people most likely to reply.\r\rI don't want 4\/4 method responses. I would like 2\/4 method responses and two independents . I guess... if u can't be unbiased towards your outsourcing, please dont title it as "PvP players talk"... its "method players talk". Please title it with corporate responsibility if there is specific outsourcing happening. I may have not clicked on it if i knew it was only team method being asked, as thats just one opinion, as they are just one guild. Independant people, but also they would be unlikely to say anything against the corporate tag. This may be the case or may not be, the point is, it is customer right to be able to make that choice. A disclaimer in the title, or a promotion specifically, would be more useful next time please. Ie, a lot of the comment sections fill instantly with '@#$% method' which is why I feel you should put it in the title, so some people can avoid it.

Comment by Sevrin02

on 2018-11-29T05:10:17-06:00

Why tf did nobody ask why in an expansion about the faction war we have no new Battegrounds and instead 2 remasters of old ones? And no, Seething Shore does not count.

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